Imagining the Supernatural North - Paperback

by Eleanor Barraclough (Editor), Danielle Cudmore (Editor), Stefan Donecker (Editor)

"Turning to face north, face the north, we enter our own unconscious. Always, in retrospect, the journey north has the quality of dream." Margaret Atwood, "True North"

In this interdisciplinary collection, sixteen scholars from twelve countries explore the notion of the North as a realm of the supernatural. This region has long been associated with sorcerous inhabitants, mythical tribes, metaphysical forces of good and evil, and a range of supernatural qualities. It was both the sacred abode of the gods and a feared source of menacing invaders and otherworldly beings. Whether from the perspective of traditional Jewish lore or of contemporary black metal music, few motifs in European cultural history show such longevity and broad appeal.

Contributors: Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, Angela Byrne, Danielle Marie Cudmore, Stefan Donecker, Brenda S. Gardenour Walter, Silvije Habulinec, Erica Hill, Jay Johnston, Maria Kasyanova, Jan Leichsenring, Shane McCorristine, Jennifer E. Michaels, Ya'acov Sarig, Rudolf Simek, Athanasios Votsis, Brian Walter

Author Biography

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough is a lecturer in medieval history and literature at Durham University in the UK. Danielle Marie Cudmore is a lecturer at Halmstad University in Sweden. Stefan Donecker is a research fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.